They were up on the ropes course at MOSI. My son was about 9 years-old at the time and he was fearlessly navigating the twists and turns and the narrow spots with ease about 30 feet off the ground. I was down on the ground observing, seriously in awe of his fearlessness and skill.

Rebecca and Lianne are back again this week to talk about how stories can help with the small hurts and disappointments of everyday life. Story Healing isn’t just a technique to be used when there is trauma, but it can be an effective tool to help move through normal tantrums and upsets.

I was amazed to read about the fact that there are different brainwave states that are important for us to be happy and healthy besides the “go, do, hurry” one. When we’re rushing around, multi-tasking, and trying to get a lot accomplished, our brain is in “beta.” But did you know that there are 4 main brainstates, not just “on” or “off”? I had a sense that there was more, but really didn’t understand it until I read Connection Parenting.

When you have little ones, there is a lot of talk about how “it’s just a phase” and “this too shall pass,” whether it’s about picky eating, tantrums, or some other behavior deemed inappropriate in our society. While it is true that many of those behaviors do pass with time, I definitely wasn’t expecting to still witness full toddler-style tantrums with my child at 8 years old.

Pam Leo, author of Connection Parenting and now The Book Fairy Pantry Project, joins Rebecca Thompson Hitt for this important conversation about WHAT it looks like in real life to make reading, singing, and storytelling a way to connect with our kids. In our third and final conversation in our series with Pam Leo, we explore ways we can explore literature and expand literacy without even picking up a book. We invite the question: How can what you love be turned into a way to connect with your kids? You’ll end this episode with many great ideas for connecting with your kids and what it can really look like in your family, whether you like reading to your kids or not and you’ll learn why every interest your child has is a doorway to literacy.

Pam Leo, author of Connection Parenting and her new love, The Book Fairy Pantry Project, joins Rebecca Thompson Hitt to explore WHY reading, singing, and storytelling is SO important for our kids. In our second conversation in our series with Pam Leo, we explore what connection through singing, storytelling, and reading can look like in our daily lives with our children. We explore what we can do with our kids when they’re little to integrate literacy into our daily care-giving activities, as well as what it looks like as they grow older. We talk about how the most important part of these activities is connection. This may require us to set aside our own adult ideas about what things like reading look like. This episode is full of lovely ideas to connect in real life with our kids!

Pam Leo, author of Connection Parenting and her new love, The Book Fairy Pantry Project, joins Rebecca Thompson Hitt to explore WHY reading, singing, and storytelling is SO important for our kids. Before our kids even go to school, they’re learning the skills that lead to reading and we’ll be talking about what you need to know to give your kids a good start. We’ll also be talking about older children, too, and you’ll learn WHY it’s so important to connect through literacy. If you’re one of those parents who doesn’t like reading to your kids, we have some ideas for you, too! You’ll learn why it’s so important to talk to your kids and narrate your day, even when your kids are teens!

“I’m scaring my kids,” she said as she sat in my office one summer day. “What scares me the most is that I don’t know how to make this different for me or for them.”

This is a common theme I hear from parents. They’re feeling completely spent, whether they’re going through a rough patch with their spouse, have just begun the process of separation or divorce, or perhaps there’s stress because there simply isn’t enough support to parent effectively.

“My son refuses to help out. He isn’t very independent. He wants me to do a lot for him and so I do. But I resent it.”

It brought up a great question. How do parents navigate those situations when we need our child to help out without resorting to yelling, hitting, or threatening? How can we consciously parent through it?

“I’m so upset! He’s working completely against me. No matter what I do, he continues to speak to me disrespectfully. I’ve tried punishing him, but he doesn’t seem to care. What am I supposed to do? I want a good relationship with my son, but he’s making it impossible!”

Maybe you can relate to this mom’s struggle. She had tried all the usual suggestions, but things hadn’t improved. She had no idea what to do next. Many parents feel this way and find themselves at the end of their rope.

I’ve been there as a parent myself. I wanted to parent from a loving place, but my kid’s behaviors were driving me crazy. Like a really bad kind of crazy. I didn’t know what to do.

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